Two Network Execs w/Something in Common: Trying to Justify Their Jobs

NBC Boss Open to More Community, Insists Fans Will Get ‘Same Show’ Despite Dan Harmon Ouster – by Michael Ausiello

NBC’s top exec insists Community has not been sent to Friday night to die.

At the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Peacock chairman Robert Greenblatt maintained that the cult fave is not necessarily heading into its final season. ”I would love nothing more than for Community to have a following on Friday and continue,” he told reporters, adding that the decision to move the show off Thursdays was part of a larger plan to “broaden the audience” of its sitcoms.

“We’re in a transition with our comedy programming,” he explained. “Those Thursday comedies, which the critics love and we love, tend to be a bit more narrow than we would ultimately like as we go forward. Community has always been on the bubble, and we decided to bring it back and see what a fourth season will do for us.”

Regarding the ouster of showrunner Dan Harmon, Greenblatt said, “I think the fans of Community are going to get the same show that they have loved from the beginning. Every so often, it’s time to make a change with the showrunner. You sort of evaluate the creative and how the show is run and how the writing staff works… [and] sometimes you want to freshen the show. We just decided it was time to do that on Community. No disrespect to anyone.”

Kevin Reilly (Fox President of Entertainment) Talks the Future of GLEE, THE MINDY PROJECT, the Final Season of FRINGE, Seth MacFarlane and More – by Christina Radish

As part of the TCA Press Tour presentation for Fox, President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly took some time to talk about where things stand with some of the new comedies and dramas, as well as old favorites, Glee and Fringe. During the interview, he spoke about their new comedy block…, the importance of giving Fringe a final season, how they’ll approach genre programming in the future, their hope for Primetime Emmy nominations next year, and the likelihood of Seth MacFarlane returning to live-action on the network.

Question: How did you finally get these four half-hour comedies — New Girl, Raising Hope, Ben and Kate and The Mindy Project — together on one night?

KEVIN REILLY: Well, since I took this job at FOX, I’ve been talking about my desire to get our comedy brand going again, and we’ve had a mixed bag on that. Last year is when it really all started to come together, with New Girl joining Raising Hope. And I’d say that we finally have the development that feels like it fits.

We developed Ben and Kate internally. We have a close relationship with the producers of that show, who were working on New Girl. Dana Fox was a consultant on New Girl, and Jake Kasdan directed the pilot for both and was executive-producing both. So, we had our eye on that one, all year long, as the one we hoped would just fit the bill, and I think it does perfectly.

And then, The Mindy Project was a really great stroke of luck, frankly. I’ve had a personal relationship with Mindy [Kaling] since I cast her on The Office…. For whatever reason, NBC decided this didn’t fit their bill. Universal had House on our air for many years. It was their most profitable show, and it was a huge hit for us. So, replicating that is only good for everybody, and I certainly expect that we will.

More thanks and love to CartoonStock.Com (Um, are they, like, going to want $$$?)

Our favorite self-serving snippets from above:

Greenblatt: “Every so often, it’s time to make a change with the showrunner. You sort of evaluate the creative and how the show is run and how the writing staff works… [and] sometimes you want to freshen the show. We just decided it was time to do that on Community. No disrespect to anyone.”

Translation: “What? You’re buying this ‘No disrespect’ crap? Dude, I disrespect everybody. If I didn’t, would I be able to bullshit like that to you?”

Reilly: “And then, The Mindy Project was a really great stroke of luck, frankly. I’ve had a personal relationship with Mindy [Kaling] since I cast her on The Office….”

Translation: “You think this was luck? It’s because I know the bitch, jerk. I discovered her and I own her.”